Mantels Glossary

Term	Definition
andirons	An andiron is a horizontal iron bar, or bars, upon which logs are laid for burning in an open fireplace. Andirons typically stand upon short legs and can be connected with an upright guard, called a fender.
bellows	A device for producing a strong current of air, consisting of a chamber that can be expanded to draw in air through a valve and contracted to expel it through a tube.
b-vent (natural vent)	A type of firebox that runs on gas, uses the air from the interior room to fuel the fire, and vents combustibles through the flue vertically.
BTU (British Thermal Unit)	A primary unit for measuring heat in the hearth industry. Technically, it is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 lb of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. BTU is helpful in understanding the heat a fireplace gives off in terms of how well it will heat a room.
Clearance	The distances required between a stove, connector pipe, chimney, or any combustible material as mandated by manufacturers and building codes.
Damper	A valve or plate that stops or regulates the flow of air inside a chimney.
direct vent	A type of firebox with a venting system that pulls in outside air to fuel the fire and then uses the flue to efficiently vent combustibles out and away from the room. This type of firebox can vent upwards, through the roof, and vent from the back of the firebox, through an exterior wall.
escutcheon	The ornamental or protective plate around the flue valve.
fender	An upright, horizontal guard which may be of iron, steel, copper, bronze, or even silver; it is often elaborately ornamented with patterns or heraldic ornaments, such as the fleur-de-lis, sphinxes, grotesque animals, mythological statuettes or caryatides supporting heroic figures or emblems.
fireback	An often decorated cast-iron plate lining the back wall of a fireplace that protects the masonry and mortar in a site-built firebox, or the refractory panel in a manufactured firebox by shielding the materials from extreme heat. Additional, the fireback radiates heat into the room after the fire has gone down or the gas has been turned off.
firebox	The part of the fireplace where fuel is combusted and the fire is contained. The firebox either sits on a masonry base at the floor level of the room, or can be floated above the floor.
fireplace inserts	A structure that is retrofit into an existing fireplace to increase the heat output in both masonry and manufactured fireboxes.
flue	A duct, pipe, or chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace to the outside of the building/home.
gas logs	A gas fireplace accessory made of ceramic or ceramic fiber that simulates the look of real wooden logs.
glass doors	Doors that attach to the perimeter of the firebox opening that function to prevent heat from escaping up the chimney and cold air from entering the home when the fireplace is not being used. They can come in either a bi-fold style with two glass panels that fold into each other and runs on a track, or a trackless style that swings outward to open.
grate	A frame of metal bars for holding fuel (such as wood logs) when burning in a fireplace, furnace, or stove.
hearth	The floor level extension of the fireplace, directly in front of the fire-box opening.
leg	The vertical frame of the fireplace that supports the mantelpiece; also called jambs.
masonry fireplace	A fireplace that is constructed of brick or stone.
manufactured fireplace	Also known as prefab, this is a fireplace that is constructed of sheet metal, but can be faced with a brick texture.
mantel	The upper portion of the decorative framework on a fireplace which acts like a shelf
overmantel	The ornamental area or panel situated above the mantelpiece.
surround	The area around the opening of the fireplace, which may be faced in marble, stone, cast-stone, ceramic tile, etc.
tool set	The tools used for maintaining a wood burning fireplace including a broom and shovel to clean ash, a fire poker and tongs to move logs, and sometimes a bellows for stirring the fire.
zero-clearance fireplace	A manufactured fireplace constructed in such a way that it can be placed with minimum or nearly no-clearance to combustibles.